Illegal weapons terrorise locals in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Guns obtained through illicit sources are frequently used in crimes of passion, street robberies

PESHAWAR:

It is said that a moment of patience in a moment of anger, can save one a thousand moments of regret. The deep implications of this adage would be best understood by the hapless locals in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), who in the absence of a strict monitoring system for illegal weapons, have to regularly bear the regretful repercussions of a young man pulling the trigger in a fit of rage.

Compared to other small and large cities across the country, Peshawar has now become the hub of illegal weapons, with the majority of households in areas like Budh Bair, Matani, Hassan Khel, Inqilab, Hazarkhwani, Chamkani, Kalu Khel, Guluzai, Mohammad Zai, Tehkal, Pishtakhara, Regi, Mathra, Pahari Pura, and Yakatoot, having ownership of at least one firearm, which is drawn out and pointed towards a rival over the smallest dispute or vendetta.

For instance, in July, a 13-year-old boy belonging to a low-income family in the Budh Bair area shot dead his father with a pistol during a rage fit after the deceased advised him over an issue. In another incident reported in the same area, a dispute over the payment of Rs2 million led to a firing incident which claimed the lives of eight members of a single family including four young girls. Similarly, in the Chamkani area of Kalo Khel, an old enmity, led a man to open fire at a rival using his Kalashnikov. However, instead of killing just one person, his indiscriminate firing led to the simultaneous deaths of five individuals.

According to information received by the Express Tribune, two types of weapons are currently circulating across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), with some comprising smuggled foreign arms left behind by NATO forces in Afghanistan and others supplied from a massive illegal arms market located in Kohat's Dara Adam Khel region, which is a major hub for arms production in the country, with nearly 70 to 100 arms factories, more than 1,000 gun shops, and 1,500 to 2,000 arms suppliers selling not only ordinary pistols and Kalashnikov's but also high-quality copies of foreign-made weapons including 9mm, 12 bore, M16, M4, M5, as well as Beretta and Zigana.

"Weapon manufacturing is a primary source of earning in our area, with many craftsmen and labourers working on a daily wage basis," revealed Wasal, a young local, who despite being unsure about the legality of the work felt that it was important to sustain the livelihood of the people in his area.

According to Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, a senior advocate at Peshawar High Court, before the FATA merger, the police and administration had an excuse that Dara Adam Khel was a tribal area hence it was difficult to curtail illegal arms. "But now, since the 2018 merger, this area is part of the settled region and under provincial government control, yet no significant action is being taken. The K-P Arms Rules 2013 require a record of arms dealers, which includes data of their usage, sales, production and legal allowances. However, this law is not being enforced. Ideally, there should be a government representative present at the point where weapons are manufactured to monitor and control the situation effectively. Moreover, arms licenses are issued on political grounds, which means that even through legal channels, weapons end up in the wrong hands," explained Gigyani.

"90 per cent of gangs use illegal weapons due to their easy availability. Robbers can easily purchase a pistol for Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 and commit 20 to 25 crimes in a single day," added a Grade 18 police officer in Peshawar, where street crime is growing day by day.

As per data received by the Express Tribune from the K-P Police, 14,836 search operations conducted across the province led to the recovery of 14,582 different weapons, including pistols, M4 rifles and Kalashnikovs along with 561,559 cartridges of various calibres, 90 per cent of which were illegal.

"We are carrying out large-scale operations against illegal weapons. The easy availability of weapons is leading to more incidents of murder in the region," said SSP Operations Peshawar Police, Kashif Zulfiqar.